Which conditioner for no poo?

[zippyswife]

After reading about using conditioner in place of shampoo on here I gave it a go this week. I was pleasantly impressed. Hair not greasy and maybe a bit less dry (I have extremely coarse and frizzy hair). Just wondering though can I use any conditioner to wash with or should I be using a certain type? And are there other things I should know?

Q. When I do my final shampoo with a sulphate shampoo to get rid of silicone build-up, do I just condition as normal afterwards (with appropriate silicone free conditioner obviously)?

You just carry on as if you are now shampoo free. You need to check the ingredients of that conditioner before you know if you could use it. There is no need for expensive ones though, I use the cheapest of conditioners (Wilko). This is my routine:
Clean with Wilko conditioner (twice). Leave it in while I wash in the shower
Instead of leaving a small amount in as recommended, I rinse it all out.
Once out of the shower I finger comb a small amount of Cantu conditioner through & leave it in
Then some Cantu curl creme ( not sure if that is correct name), then basic Tesco gel.
Shoosh (!) It into place then don't touch until dry. Scrunch out any crispiness. This is for curly hair, obvs.

I use Waitrose conditioner for normal hair- v cheap and works really well. My curls are the happiest they have ever been and it works out so much cheaper!

What’s the name of the Wiko conditioner? Think I’ll try that

This one, it's 80p for 750 mls!
www.wilko.com/shampoo-conditioner-and-treatments/wilko-conditioner-jojoba-750ml/invt/0306009

Great! I’ll be getting that tomorrow

Have just been through all my shampoos/conditioners/masques and every single one of them contains silicone (dimethicone). About £60 of really nice products, some of which I only bought in the last few weeks 😩.

Also realised I got a huge sample of Tigi Bedhead Calma Sutra 'Co-washing Cleansing Conditioner' which, turns out, also contains dimethicone 🙄. A product aimed at the 'no poo' regime that contains the very thing you're trying to avoid. How stupid is that?

Anyway, have just bought some Garnier Ultimate Blends Coconut Oil Silicone-free conditioner while I wait for my fancy stuff to come. Going to do a final cleanse tonight and then use the conditoner.

Really looking forward to seeing how my hair responds to these changes tbh. I'll never be curly but smoother, sleeker, healthier hair would be very welcome.

But on the plus side you’ll never spend that much on hair product again. 😀

Seriously, I spent years paying a fortune for ‘good’ products and regular cuts at a good salon and my hair has never been even close to as good as it is now.

That's really encouraging woman 😊.

I'm fully committed now. Have packed all the old products away and will be sticking religiously to the regime.

Another Q: Once I've co-washed and rinsed the cleansing conditioner out, should I then condition and rinse again as I normally would after a shampoo or should I apply a small amount of conditioner and leave it in my hair? Am reading lots of conflicting opinions on this 🤔.

I don’t leave anything in - it felt boaky and it’s fine without. I conditioner wash once, style with cantu curl activatir and a vo5 gel and leave it to dry on its own or diffuser dry it if Im in a hurry.

Have an experiment - it took me a couple of weeks to find my cg mojo but I’ll never go back!

Just wanted to add that I have fine, ultra straight hair, and co-washing works very well for me.
OP I would experiment a bit with the conditioner and see what works for your hair best.

Yeah I suspect mine would feel the same, heavy and weighed down. It's quite thick but I've just never got on with leave in products.

Like you say, it's going to come down to trial and error in the end!

I leave some in, but you will have to see what works best for you

Oh god.

So last night I washed, conditioned and then added a wee bit of coconut oil and then 'plopped'. This morning I've woken up to a pretty crunchy looking greasepile . There actually are waves which I'm shocked/pleased about but my hair is definitely not looking it's best. Was initially tempted to just wash it but I'm going to try and style it out instead.

Perseverance is key I guess?

Download the app "think dirty" it tells you the ingredients of most soap, shower gel, shampoo etc and how,toxic they are.

Jesus - plopping overnight won't ever leave you with hair that's 'done' it'll still need drying and most people find overnight too long.

Also if coconut oil wasn't something you were using before - its very heavy stuff (I can't use it and I do have curly hair) also some people's hair does not like coconut in anything, nevermind straight from oil.

tabula noted 👍 Thank you.

Have it sorted now (as in have sprayed with dry shampoo and tied it up 😐).

Will co-wash tomorrow, avoid the coconut oil and only plop for 30 mins-an hour.

Trial and error!

When I tried plopping overnight I just kept waking up with a cold head. Unless your hair is really really dry, I’d skip plopping completely for now and see how you get on with co-washing.

Plopping overnight gives me terrible hair, it upsets my curls and they come out all weird, plus it's not comfy to sleep in.

I do plop because it stops me dropping all over my house, but usually only for about 15 minutes.

I'm pretty sure dry shampoo isn't CG approved, but I don't know if it's because it's got ingredients that don't wash out or just because it's got drying alcohols in it.

So I've started again.

Did another 'final' wash to get the coconut oil/dry shampoo etc out of my hair then conditioned as normal with silicone free Ultimate Ends stuff. Wrapped hair in microfibre towel for 10-15 mins, gave it a gentle but thorough scrunch with my hands and it's now air-drying. Haven't added any kind of product.

Lessons learned so far:

No more plopping.

No more dry shampoo/coconut oil.

Thanks for all the advice and help .

@spankhurst Please can I ask you what conditioner you use? I have fine, straight hair too and am working up the courage to go no 'poo!

I use anything really but try to avoid silicones. The Garnier coconut and aloe in a light blue bottle is good. Dr Organic is fab too.

Thank you

Update: I'm a convert!

Did first co-wash last night using the Garnier Ultimate Blends. Left hair to towel dry for 15-20 mins then scrunched (without product). Once my hair was almost dry I rubbed a tiny bit of conditioner into the very ends.

My hair is noticeably more soft and silky. I don't have the frizz halo of old and my natural waves are much more apparent. It isn't in the slightest bit greasy or crunchy.

Really impressed 😆.

Nice.

My routine is different. After co washing, I tip my head upside down and squeeze moisturiser cream all the way through my hair, squeeze and scrunch. I do this whilst my hair is still dripping wet.
Then plop with turban for however long, and finally I either air dry or Diffuse dry.
If air drying then my hair lacks volume at the roots so after it's dry I massage my roots upside down gently. I diffuse upside down for the same reason.
Lovely shiny lightweight tumbling curls. I wonder how I didn't do this years ago.